After my last entry, I really needed a good couple weeks to get me back on track here in Linea Vieja.  My last entry was certainly a very negative view into my life here sometimes but very much a reality of how Peace Corps service is, not just for me but I think almost every volunteer.  We have good days or good weeks but being sidelined or stuck waiting for someone else to act can be extremely frustrating and while it would be much easier to simply take complete control of a project and move forward, that isn't the idea of Peace Corps development and requires a lot more patience than I may have at times.  However, the good days need to make up for the bad ones and just as any other job in life, we have to focus on the good we are doing (or trying to do) and the small successes of our community and projects. Really I think what it comes down to is optimism and hoping that by continuing to show the community that progress may be slow and tedious, the end result is worth it. While this may not be enough motivation to move forward for everyone here, it has been enough for a small group of community members. Although finding what motivates people is often times disappointing because it usually shows the selfish and materialistic side of humans, finding someone that really believes in helping the community and building for the future is such an amazing feeling and luckily here in Linea Vieja I have been able to find a number of such people and they continue to support and care for me here.

These past two weeks have been busier but still slow for me.  Conversations about projects still outnumber the days of acting on conversations, some project ideas have come and gone, and others are finally being acted upon.  The medical clinic grant is almost complete, there has finally been some movement with the basketball court fencing and lights, the bus stop received some community support and the supplies are ready, the recycling committee got a second (or third or fourth) life, and a youth soccer team is in the works with my host sister.  To top it all off, this past Saturday, the community held a smallish party to celebrate my birthday, made me a cake, bought presents, had a couple musicians, the works!!

Basketball court

I'll start with the basketball court because it is the longest going project I have and one that really should have been finished a while ago but la pura vida doesn't work well with timetables.  The ADI treasurer finally showed up at the last meeting and wrote a couple checks so the president could go ahead and buy the remaining two lights, cement, and rock/sand mixture.  This past weekend, a group of 4 other PCVs came in for the party Saturday and got roped into helping mixing cement, digging holes and installing the poles for the fencing.  We spent a couple hours installing the posts unfortunately doing the majority of the work since the community didn't show up.  Regardless we finally have the posts up and are just waiting for the pastor to have a free day to come and weld the fencing onto the poles...finally some progress.  The lights are bought and we got the medical clinic to donate a little chicken wire material to cover the lights to protect them from any balls.  The contractor should hopefully be coming in on Monday to finish installing the last two lights.  I know I've said it before, but I am really  optimistic that the court will be finished by this time next week.

Medical Clinic Grant

The committee has been a lot more responsive these past two weeks and seem to be on board with presentations and talks to the colegio and escuela.  They have even decided they want to focus more on the elderly in the community in addition to the youth as many older members in the community tend to live on their own and have very little support from family or the government here in the community. Each discussion leads to new discussions about how we want to focus on the elderly and what they need the most out of the project.  We have discussed eye examinations, a small party to raise awareness of elderly care and small food donations.  We have another meeting scheduled for tomorrow to discuss specific objectives and goals for the project and hopefully get some specific costs on paper.

Recycling Committee

We have lost a couple members mainly due to the long period of inactivity and poor communication but the remaining members seem to be motivated to continue on with the project and expand.  We have water now in the center (although the well seems to be pretty dry now meaning we may have to dig deeper) and we are finishing installing the tubing so that we can wash in a small sink we made.  We reviewed our work plan and decided on the next steps to the project and which projects to work on and finally how to finally finish out the grant.  We are hoping to make a few signs around the community to emphasize recycling and denounce littering, make a few trash cans out of bottles and repaint the sign for the recycling center.  The science teacher is finally back to supporting the project after a couple busy months which should help keep the colegio kids involved and the conversation to bring the students to Tortuguero has finally restarted.

Community Party

One of the best experiences in my service so far was this past Saturday.  The ADI and Ligia offered to host a small party to celebrate my birthday and invited families of people I have worked with this past year and students I have assisted.  There was probably around 80 people there, most kids, but they made me a cake, gave me a couple gifts, sang me "Happy Birthday" and had me smash open a pinata.  We played a ton of soccer and basketball with the kids, threw around the american football with the other PCVs and the other PCVs got to meet my community and see everything I have been working on.  We went to the river everyday, played a lot of basketball with the community kids, had dinner with another community member and did a little manual labor.  One of the best days I have had here so far and so amazing to see the love they have for me here.  

And the ADI turned in their application to solicit another PCV for next year (good to know I didn't mess up Peace Corps image here!)

After a year and 4 months here in Linea Vieja I am optimistic for the final 8 months left with this great community.  I certainly have slow days with very little to do but it helps to know that I have the support and love of this community to fall back on.  It is amazing to see how far we have all come and really a shame to know how quickly time has gone.  Peace Corps is definitely a day-to-day struggle against a lot of different factors, many or which result from culture and language, but the moment when you are able to successfully navigate these obstacles with your community is something really only a Peace Corps volunteer understands.

Thanks for reading as always, hopefully this entry is a little more uplifting than the last!

-Conor